Platte County Commissioners this week turned over 80 acres of parkland to the City of Kansas City.
The order was approved at the Monday, Nov. 18 administrative session with Kansas City director of parks and recreation Terry Rynard present. The 140-acre Platte Purchase Park, located north of Highway 152 at Platte Purchase Drive, was created in partnership with the City of Kansas City after the passage of the half-cent sales tax in 2000. Over the decades, nine baseball and softball fields were built, along with a shelter, playground and walking trail, at a cost of about $1.5 million. The City of Kansas City previously owned 60 acres and with this week’s order the commissioners turned the remainder over to the city.
There was no exchange of cash associated with the deal, which commissioners say will help with continued development in the area.
“It’s been a great partnership with Kansas City and it’s a great park and we want that to continue in our Parks Master Plan,” said presiding commissioner Ron Schieber.
Commissioners amended the order to nullify the previous agreements outlining future county participation in capital improvements and turn responsibility over to Kansas City.
“This has been a fantastic partnership,” Rynard said. “The (Kansas City) board is ready to get in there and finish improvements.”
Former assistant director of parks for Platte County Jim Kunce said he worked on the original park plan during his time with the county and praised the move.
While community activist David Park also supported the transfer, he questioned the process.
“If this was going the other way — from the city to the county — it would have gone to a vote of the people,” Park said.
AUDITOR’S BUDGET RELEASED
Also at the meeting, auditor Kevin Robinson announced his recommended budget for 2020 was available on the county website at co.platte.mo.us. The budgeting process will continue with weeks of meetings between the commissioners and officeholders, with the commission’s recommended budget set to be released by the end of the year. The final budget will be approved at the Monday, Jan. 6, 2020 commission administrative session. The process will include public hearings.
Highlights of the recommended budget include a 2 percent wage adjustment for county employees to cover the increased cost of health insurance. An additional 1.5 percent wage increase was proposed for the Sheriff’s Office, making a combined 3.5 percent bump for that office’s staff.
“For 2020, resources are not available to fund all of the sheriff’s and other elected officials’ requests,” Robinson states in the budget message. “This increase is a good faith effort to accommodate a portion of the sheriff’s request and aid in staff attraction and retention.”
Operating costs have steadily increased without similar increases in revenue, creating an unsustainable budget for the long haul, according to Robinson.
The recommended budget includes two additional deputies to staff a reinstated security checkpoint at the Platte County Administration Center. The recorder of deeds and county collector allocated funding from their budgets to purchase an x-ray system for that door.
Robinson also told prosecutor Eric Zahnd at the meeting that his budget recommendation included the addition of one full-time assistant prosecutor to handle increasing caseloads.